End device, three-party communication system comprising cloud server and edge server for controlling end device, and operation method therefor

ABSTRACT

An end device including a communication module configured to wirelessly communicate with an edge server managed by a cloud server, and at least one processor connected to the communication module, the at least one processor configured to receive a control command from the edge server through the communication module, and operate according to the control command.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This U.S. non-provisional application is a continuation application of,and claims the benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. § 365(c) to,International Application No. PCT/KR2020/000077, filed on Jan. 3, 2020,the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference intheir entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Various example embodiments relate to a communication system for threeparties including an end device, an edge server for controlling the enddevice, and a cloud server, and an operation method thereof.

BACKGROUND

In general, an electronic device performs a complex function by addingvarious functions. With the advancement of technology, the electronicdevice is implemented as a robot and processes various types of tasks.The robot includes a driving module having a physical mechanism and aprocessor configured to control the driving module. The processorprocesses sensing data about a surrounding environment and determines acontrol command for the driving module. Through this, the driving modulemay operate according to the control command and the robot may process atask.

SUMMARY

A robot, as discussed above, independently operates and handles all thecontrol operations by itself. Therefore, to secure the higherperformance and higher precision operation of the robot, the performanceof a processor is enhanced. As the performance of the processor isimproved, manufacturing cost of the robot and power consumed by therobot also increase. In addition, the size of the processor is increasedin order to increase the performance of the processor. Therefore, it isdifficult to operate a small sized robot with higher performance andhigher precision.

An end device according to various example embodiments may include acommunication module configured to wirelessly communicate with an edgeserver managed by a cloud server, and at least one processor connectedto the communication module, the at least one processor configured toreceive a control command from the edge server through the communicationmodule, and operate according to the control command.

An operation method of an end device according to various exampleembodiments may include wirelessly connecting to an edge server managedby a cloud server, wirelessly receiving a control command from the edgeserver, and operating according to the control command.

An edge server according to various example embodiments may include acommunication module configured to communicate with a cloud server, thecloud server being is configured to manage the end device and the edgeserver, and at least one processor connected to the communication modulethe at least one processor configured to determine a control command forthe end device, and wirelessly transmit the control command to the enddevice through the communication module.

An operation method of an edge server according to various exampleembodiments may include wirelessly connecting to the end device whilemaintaining a connection to a cloud server, the cloud server beingconfigured to manage the edge server, determining a control command forthe end device, and wirelessly transmitting the control command to theend device.

A cloud server according to various example embodiments may include acommunication module configured to communicate with at least one edgeserver, the at least one edge server being configured to control atleast one end device, and at least one processor connected to thecommunication module, the at least one processor configured to receivedata from the edge server through the communication module, the databeing related to the end device, and process the data.

An operation method of a cloud server according to various exampleembodiments may include connecting to at least one edge serverconfigured to control at least one end device, receiving data related tothe end device from the edge server, and processing the data.

A communication system according to various example embodiments mayinclude at least one end device configured to collect data, at least oneedge server configured to wirelessly control the at least one enddevice, and a cloud server configured to connect to the at least oneedge server, and manage the at least one end device and the at least oneedge server, wherein the at least one edge server is configured towirelessly receive the data from the at least one end device, determinea control command based on the data, and wirelessly transmit the controlcommand to the at least one end device, and the at least one end deviceis configured to wirelessly receive the control command from the atleast one edge server, and operate according to the control command.

An operation method of a communication system according to variousexample embodiments may include wirelessly connecting, by an edgeserver, to at least one end device while the edge server is connected toa cloud server, collecting, by the at least one end device, data,wirelessly transmitting, by the at least one end device, the data to theedge server, determining, by the edge server, a control command based onthe data, wirelessly transmitting, by the edge server, the controlcommand to the at least one end device, and operating, by the at leastone end device, according to the control command.

According to various example embodiments, an edge server may function asa brain of at least one end device to wirelessly control the end device.That is, since the edge server processes a control command for the enddevice, the end device only operates according to the control command.Therefore, the end device does not perform higher-level processing.Accordingly, the manufacturing cost of the end device may be saved andan amount of power consumed by the end device may be reduced. Regardlessof a size of the end device, the end service may operate with higherperformance and higher precision. In addition, the edge server maycontrol a plurality of end devices based on the higher processingperformance. Accordingly, in a communication system that includes theend device and the edge server, the efficiency of using resourcesincluding cost and power may be improved.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A illustrates a communication system according to various exampleembodiments.

FIG. 1B illustrates a communication system according to various exampleembodiments.

FIG. 2A illustrates an operation method of a communication systemaccording to various example embodiments.

FIG. 2B illustrates an operation method of a communication systemaccording to various example embodiments.

FIG. 3A is a diagram illustrating an end device according to variousexample embodiments.

FIG. 3B is a diagram illustrating a communication module of FIG. 3Aaccording to various example embodiments.

FIG. 3C is a diagram illustrating a processor of FIG. 3A according tovarious example embodiments.

FIG. 3D is a diagram illustrating a data generator of FIG. 3C accordingto various example embodiments.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an operation method of an end deviceaccording to various example embodiments.

FIG. 5A is a flowchart illustrating an operation of connecting to anedge server of FIG. 4 according to various example embodiments.

FIGS. 5B and 5C are flowcharts illustrating an operation of transmittingfirst data to an edge server of FIG. 4 according to various exampleembodiments.

FIG. 6A is a diagram illustrating an edge server according to variousexample embodiments.

FIG. 6B is a diagram illustrating a processor of FIG. 6A.

FIG. 7A is a flowchart illustrating an operation method of an edgeserver according to various example embodiments.

FIG. 7B is a flowchart illustrating an operation method of an edgeserver according to various example embodiments.

FIG. 8A is a diagram illustrating a cloud server according to variousexample embodiments.

FIG. 8B is a diagram illustrating a processor of FIG. 8A.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an operation method of a cloud serveraccording to various example embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Hereinafter, various example embodiments disclosed herein are describedwith reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1A illustrates a communication system 100 according to variousexample embodiments.

Referring to FIG. 1A, the communication system 100 according to variousexample embodiments may refer to a three-party communication system, andmay include at least one end device 110, at least one edge server 120,and/or a cloud server 130.

The end device 110 may refer to an electronic device and may include arobot (e.g., a drone, etc.). The edge server 120 may refer to anelectronic device and may function as a brain of (e.g., to performprocessing and/control of) the end device 110. That is, each edge server120 may wirelessly control the at least one end device 110. According tovarious example embodiments, the edge server 120 may control the enddevice 110 based on a set control period. The control period may bedetermined based on a sum of an amount of time given to process datarelated to the end device 110 and an amount of time given to provide acontrol command to the end device 110. The cloud server 130 may manageat least one of the end device 110 and/or the edge server 120. Accordingto various example embodiments, the edge server 120 may function as aserver for the end device 110 and may function as a client for the cloudserver 130. According to various example embodiments, the edge server120 and/or the cloud server 130 may include a processor (e.g., aprocessor 630 and/or a processor 830, as discussed further below) thatmay be physically larger, consume greater resources, and/or be capableof capable of higher performance (e.g., throughput, quantity ofcomputations, complexity of computations, etc.) and/or higher precision(e.g., more precise computations), than a processor included in the enddevice 110 (e.g., a processor 360, as discussed further below).

The end device 110 and the edge server 120 may communicate in a wirelessmanner. The edge server 120 and the cloud server 130 may communicate ina wired or wireless manner. According to various example embodiments,the end device 110 and the edge server 120 may communicate through awireless network that enables ultra-reliable and low latencycommunications (URLLC). The wireless network may have features capableof performing enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) and massive machine typecommunications (mMTC) as well as URLLC. According to various exampleembodiments, the wireless network may include at least one of a firstwireless network and/or a second wireless network. The first wirelessnetwork may include a long-distance wireless network, for example, a 5Gnetwork, and the second wireless network may include a short-rangewireless network, for example, wireless fidelity (WiFi)-6 (WiFi ad/ay).For example, the edge server 120 may include a mobile edge computing, ormulti-access edge computing, (MEC) server and may be installed in a basestation. Through this, latency caused by communication between the enddevice 110 and the edge server 120 may be reduced. According to variousexample embodiments, according to a decrease in an amount of time givento provide a control command to the end device 110, an amount of timegiven to process data may increase in a control period of the edgeserver 120. The edge server 120 and the cloud server 130 may communicatethrough a wireless network, for example, the Internet.

In various example embodiments, a plurality of edge servers 120 may beconnected over a wireless mesh network and a function of the cloudserver 130 may be distributed to the edge servers 120. In this case,with respect to a specific end device 110, one of the edge servers 120may function as the edge server 120 for the end device 110, and at leastanother one of the edge servers 120 may function as the cloud server 130for the end device 110 in cooperation with one of the edge servers 120.

FIG. 1B illustrates the communication system 100 according to variousexample embodiments.

Referring to FIG. 1B, the edge server 120 may include a first edgeserver 121 and a second edge server 123. According to various exampleembodiments, each of the first edge server 121 and the second edgeserver 123 may communicate with the cloud server 130. Each end device110 may wirelessly communicate with at least one of the first edgeserver 121 and/or the second edge server 123. The first edge server 121may communicate with the end device 110 through the first wirelessnetwork, for example, a 5G network. The second edge server 123 maycommunicate with the end device 110 through the second wireless network,for example, WiFi-6 (WiFi ad/ay). According to various exampleembodiments, the end device 110 may communicate with the first edgeserver 121 outside communication coverage A (e.g., when the end device110 is outside the communication coverage A) of the second edge server123. The end device 110 may communicate with at least one of the firstedge server 121 and the second edge server 123 within the communicationcoverage A (e.g., when the end device 110 is inside the communicationcoverage A) of the second edge server 123.

The communication system 100 for three parties according to variousexample embodiments may include at least one end device 110 configuredto collect data, at least one edge server 120 configured to wirelesslycontrol the end device 110, and/or the cloud server 130 configured toconnect to the edge server 120, and manage the end device 110 and theedge server 120.

According to various example embodiments, the edge server 120 may beconfigured to wirelessly receive data from the end device 110, determinea control command based on the data, and transmit the control command tothe end device 110.

According to various example embodiments, the edge server 120 mayinclude the first edge server 121 of the first wireless network and thesecond edge server 123 of the second wireless network.

For example, the first wireless network may be a long-distance wirelessnetwork and the second wireless network may be a short-range wirelessnetwork.

According to various example embodiments, the end device 110 may beconfigured to wirelessly receive the control command from the edgeserver 120 and operate according to the control command.

According to various example embodiments, the end device 110 may beconfigured to transmit data to one of the first edge server 121 and/orthe second edge server, and wirelessly receive the control command fromone of the first edge server 121 and/or the second edge server 123.

According to various example embodiments, the edge server 120 may beconfigured to determine whether to cooperate with the cloud server 130based on data and, when the edge server 120 determines to not cooperatewith the cloud server 130, determine the control command and transmitthe control command within a set control period.

According to various example embodiments, when the edge server 120determines to cooperate with the cloud server 130, the edge server 120may be configured to determine the control command through communicationwith the cloud server 130 based on data.

According to various example embodiments, the first edge server 121 maybe configured to determine the control command based on data andtransmit the control command to the end device 110 through the firstwireless network.

According to various example embodiments, the second edge server 123 maybe configured to determine whether to cooperate with the cloud server130 based on data and, when the edge server 120 determines to notcooperate with the cloud server 130, determine the control command andtransmit the control command to the end device 110 through the secondwireless network within a set control period.

According to various example embodiments, when the edge server 120determines to cooperate with the cloud server 130, the second edgeserver 123 may be configured determine the control command throughcommunication with the cloud server 130 based on data and transmit thecontrol command to the end device 110 through the second wirelessnetwork.

FIG. 2A illustrates an operation method of the communication system 100according to various example embodiments.

Referring to FIG. 2A, the edge server 120 may be connected to the cloudserver 130 in operation 211 and may be connected to the end device 110in operation 213. The edge server 120 may be connected to the end device110 during connection to (e.g., while edge server 120 is also connectedto) the cloud server 130. According to various example embodiments, theedge server 120 may be connected to the cloud server 130 in a wired orwireless manner, and may be connected to the end device 110 in awireless manner. According to various example embodiments, the edgeserver 120 may be connected to the end device 110 through a wirelessnetwork that enables URLLC.

In operation 215, the end device 110 may transmit first data to the edgeserver 120. To this end, the end device 110 may collect the first data.The first data may include at least one of sensing data about anexternal environment of the end device 110, state data about the enddevice 110, and/or a request corresponding to an operation of the enddevice 110. According to various example embodiments, the sensing datamay include localization data that represents a distance between the enddevice 110 and a base station, for example, a WiFi access point (AP),and may be used to estimate a position of the end device 110.

In operation 217, the edge server 120 may determine a control commandfor the end device 110. According to various example embodiments, theedge server 120 may determine the control command based on the firstdata. The control command may be for controlling a motion of the enddevice 110. In operation 219, the edge server 120 may transmit thecontrol command to the end device 110. According to various exampleembodiments, the edge server 120 may determine the control command basedon the first data and may transmit the control command within a setcontrol period. The control period may be determined as a sum of anamount of time used to determine the control command based on the firstdata and an amount of time used to transmit the control command to theend device 110. For example, the set control period may be 5 ms, and theedge server 120 may determine the control command based on the firstdata for 4 ms and may transmit the control command to the end device 110for 1 ms. According to various example embodiments, the edge server 120may transmit the control command with map information related to the enddevice 110.

In operation 221, the end device 110 may operate according to thecontrol command. For example, the end device 110 may move its position,or change its posture, by changing its motion.

FIG. 2B illustrates an operation method of the communication system 100according to various example embodiments.

Referring to FIG. 2B, the edge server 120 may be connected to the cloudserver 130 in operation 231 and may be connected to the end device 110in operation 233. The edge server 120 may be connected to the end device110 during connection to (e.g., while edge server 120 is also connectedto) the cloud server 130. According to various example embodiments, theedge server 120 may be connected to the cloud server 130 in a wired orwireless manner, and may be connected to the end device 110 in awireless manner. According to various example embodiments, the edgeserver 120 may be connected to the end device 110 through a wirelessnetwork that enables URLLC.

In operation 235, the end device 110 may transmit first data to the edgeserver 120. To this end, the end device 110 may collect the first data.The first data may include at least one of sensing data about anexternal environment of the end device 110, state data about the enddevice 110, and/or a request corresponding to an operation of the enddevice 110. According to various example embodiments, the sensing datamay include localization data that represents a distance between the enddevice 110 and a base station, for example, a WiFi AP, and may be usedto estimate a position of the end device 110.

In operation 237, the edge server 120 may process the first datareceived from the end device 110. According to various exampleembodiments, the edge server 120 may detect second data based on thefirst data. The second data may include at least one of a process resultof the first data and/or a request (query) for the end device 110. Inoperation 239, the edge server 120 may transmit the second data to thecloud server 130.

In operation 241, the cloud server 130 may process the second datareceived from the edge server 120. According to various exampleembodiments, the cloud server 130 may detect third data based on thesecond data. The third data may include at least one of a processingresult of the second data and/or a response for (e.g., to) the requestfor the end device 110. According to various example embodiments, thecloud server 130 may detect the third data from the second data using amachine learning model. Additionally, the cloud server 130 may updatethe machine learning model by performing machine learning using thesecond data. According to various example embodiments, in operation 243,the cloud server 130 may transmit the third data to the edge server 120.

In operation 245, the edge server 120 may determine a control commandfor the end device 110. According to various example embodiments, theedge server 120 may determine the control command based on at least oneof the first data and/or the third data. According to various exampleembodiments, the edge server 120 may determine the control command basedon the third data received from the cloud server 130. The controlcommand may be for controlling a motion of the end device 110 or may befor performing a software update. According to various exampleembodiments, the edge server 120 may process the second data. Accordingto various example embodiments, the edge server 120 may detect the thirddata based on the second data and may determine the control commandbased on the third data. According to various example embodiments, theedge server 120 may detect the third data from the second data using themachine learning model. Additionally, the edge server 120 may update themachine learning model by performing machine learning using the seconddata. The control command may be for controlling a motion of the enddevice 110. In operation 247, the edge server 120 may transmit thecontrol command to the end device 110. According to various exampleembodiments, the edge server 120 may transmit the control command withmap information related to the end device 110.

In operation 249, the end device 110 may operate according to thecontrol command. For example, the end device 110 may move its position,change its posture by changing its motion, and/or may perform softwareupdate.

An operation method of the communication system 100 for three partiesaccording to various example embodiments may include wirelesslyconnecting, by the edge server 120, to at least one end device 110 whilethe edge server 120 is connected to the cloud server 130; collecting, bythe end device 110, data; wirelessly transmitting, by the end device110, the data to the edge server 120; determining, by the edge server120, a control command based on the data; wirelessly transmitting, bythe edge server 120, the control command to the end device 110; andoperating, by the end device 110, according to the control command.

According to various example embodiments, the edge server 120 mayinclude the first edge server 121 of the first wireless network and thesecond edge server 123 of the second wireless network.

For example, the first wireless network may be a long-distance wirelessnetwork, and the second wireless network may be a short-range wirelessnetwork.

According to various example embodiments, the operating method of thecommunication system 100 for three parties may further includereceiving, by the first edge server 121, data from the end device 110;determining, by the first edge server 121, a control command based onthe data; and transmitting, by the first edge server 121, the controlcommand to the end device 110 through the first wireless network.

According to various example embodiments, the operating method of thecommunication system 100 for three parties may further includereceiving, by the second edge server 123, data from the end device 110;determining, by the second edge server 123, whether to cooperate withthe cloud server 130 based on the data; when it is determined to notcooperate with the cloud server 130, determining, by the second edgeserver 123, a control command within a set control period; andtransmitting, by the second edge server 123, the control command to theend device 110 through the second wireless network.

According to various example embodiments, the operation method of thecommunication system 100 for three parties may further include, when itis determined to cooperate with the cloud server 130, determining, bythe second edge server 123, a control command through communication withthe cloud server 130 based on the data; and transmitting, by the secondedge server 123, the control command to the end device 110 through thesecond wireless network.

FIG. 3A is a diagram illustrating the end device 110 according tovarious example embodiments. FIG. 3B is a diagram illustrating acommunication module 340 of FIG. 3A according to various exampleembodiments. FIG. 3C is a diagram illustrating a processor 360 of FIG.3A according to various example embodiments. FIG. 3D is a diagramillustrating a data generator 361 of FIG. 3C according to variousexample embodiments.

Referring to FIG. 3A, the end device 110 according to various exampleembodiments may refer to an electronic device and may include at leastone of a sensor module 310 (also referred to as a “sensing module”herein), a camera module 320, a driving module 330, a communicationmodule 340, a memory 350, and/or a processor 360. In various exampleembodiments, at least one of components of the end device 110, forexample, the camera module 320 may be omitted and at least one othercomponent may be added. In various example embodiments, at least two ofthe components of the end device 110 may be implemented as a singleintegrated circuit. According to various example embodiments, the enddevice 110 may be a robot.

The sensor module 310 may sense an external environment state of the enddevice 110 and may generate sensing data corresponding thereto. Forexample, the sensor module 310 may include a distance sensor, a gesturesensor, a gyro sensor, a barometric pressure sensor, a magnetic sensor,an acceleration sensor, a grip sensor, a proximity sensor, a colorsensor, an infrared (IR) sensor, a biometric sensor, a temperaturesensor, a humidity sensor, and/or an illumination sensor. For example,the distance sensor may include at least one of a sonar sensor, a timeof flight (ToF) sensor, a laser range finder (LRF) sensor, and/or aninertial measurement unit (IMU) sensor.

The camera module 320 may capture an image (e.g., discrete images,video, etc.). For example, the camera module 320 may include at leastone of at least one lens, an image sensor, an image signal processor,and/or a flash.

The driving module 330 may implement a physical operation, that is, amotion of the end device 110. According to various example embodiments,the driving module 330 may move a position, or change a posture, of theend device 110. For example, the driving module 330 may include at leastone of a wheel mechanism, a joint mechanism, and/or an actuator. Theactuator refers to a mechanism for controlling a position, a speed,and/or a force of the wheel mechanism, or the joint mechanism, and mayinclude, for example, a motor and/or an encoder. According to variousexample embodiments, the driving module 330 may output information. Forexample, the driving module 330 may include at least one of a displaymodule and/or an audio output module.

The communication module 340 may support wireless communication with anexternal device in the end device 110 (e.g., wireless communicationbetween the end device 110 and the external device). According tovarious example embodiments, the communication module 340 may supportestablishing a wireless communication channel with the external devicebased on a predefined or alternatively, given communication method, andperforming communication through the communication channel. According tovarious example embodiments, the communication module 340 maycommunicate with the edge server 120 through a wireless network thatenables URLLC. The wireless network may include at least one of a firstwireless network, for example, a 5G network, and a second wirelessnetwork, WiFi-6 (WiFi ad/ay). The communication module 340 may verifyand authenticate the end device 110 based on stored identificationinformation.

According to various example embodiments, referring to FIG. 3B, thecommunication module 340 may include a first communication module 341and/or a second communication module 343. The first communication module341 may communicate with the first edge server 121 through the firstwireless network, for example, a 5G network. The second communicationmodule 343 may communicate with the second edge server 123 through thesecond wireless network, for example, WiFi-6 (WiFi ad/ay). According tovarious example embodiments, the communication module 340, the firstcommunication module 341 and/or the second communication module 343 mayeach be implemented using, for example, an radio frequency (RF) chain,an encoder, a modulator, a decoder, a demodulator, a filter, etc.

The memory 350 may store data used by at least one of the components ofthe end device 110 (e.g., the sensor module 310, the camera module 320,the driving module 330, the communication module 340, and/or theprocessor 360). The data may include a program, and input data or outputdata related thereto. For example, the memory 350 may store parametersand dynamic model information about a motion of the end device 110. Thememory 350 may include a volatile memory and/or a non-volatile memory.The program may be stored in the memory 350 as software and may includean operating system (OS) to control resources of the end device 110.

The processor 360 may control the overall operation of the end device110. The processor 360 may communicate with the edge server 120 throughthe communication module 340. According to various example embodiments,the processor 360 may transmit collected first data to the edge server120. The first data may include at least one of sensing data about anexternal environment of the end device 110, state data about the enddevice 110, and/or a request corresponding to an operation of the enddevice 110. According to various example embodiments, the sensing datamay include localization data that represents a distance between the enddevice 110 and a base station, for example, a WiFi AP, and may be usedto estimate a position of the end device 110. The processor 360 mayoperate according to the control command received from the edge server120. According to the control command, the processor 360 may operate thedriving module 330. Alternatively or additionally, according to thecontrol command, the processor 360 may update software of the memory350.

According to various example embodiments, referring to FIG. 3C, theprocessor 360 may include a data generator 361 and/or a data transmitter365. The data generator 361 may generate first data. The datatransmitter 365 may transmit the first data to the edge server 120.According to various example embodiments, the data transmitter 365 maytransmit the first data to the edge server 120 through the communicationmodule 340. According to various example embodiments, the datatransmitter 365 may perform transmission scheduling for the first data.

According to various example embodiments, the data generator 361 maygenerate first data and may classify the first data. The data generator361 may classify the first data based on at least one of the first dataand/or a control command to be received from the edge server 120 inresponse to the first data. According to various example embodiments,the data generator 361 may classify the first data depending on apriority between lower latency transmission, and large capacitytransmission, for at least one of the first data and/or the controlcommand. When the lower latency transmission is prioritized for at leastone of the first data and/or the control command, the data generator 361may classify the first data into a first type. When the large capacitytransmission is prioritized for at least one of the first data and/orthe control command, the data generator 361 may classify the first datainto a second type. For example, when the first data includeslocalization data or when the control command is to be received with mapinformation in response to the first data, the data generator 361 mayclassify the first data into the second type. Otherwise, the datagenerator 361 may classify the first data into the first type. Throughthis, the data transmitter 365 may transmit the first type of the firstdata to the first edge server 121 through the first communication module341. Alternatively, the data transmitter 365 may transmit the secondtype of first data to the second edge server 123 through the secondcommunication module 343. When both the first type of the first data andthe second type of the first data are present, the data transmitter 365may determine transmission priority for the first type of the first dataand the second type of the first data, and may perform transmissionscheduling based on the determined transmission priority.

Referring to FIG. 3D, according to various example embodiments, the datagenerator 361 may include a first data generator 362 and/or a seconddata generator 363. The first data generator 362 may generate the firsttype of the first data. According to various example embodiments, whenthe lower latency transmission is prioritized for at least one of thefirst data to be generated and/or a control command to be received atthe edge server 120 in response to the first data to be generated, thefirst data generator 362 may generate the corresponding first data. Thesecond data generator 363 may generate the second type of the firstdata. According to various example embodiments, when the large capacitytransmission is prioritized for at least one of the first data to begenerated and/or the control command to be received at the edge server120 in response to the first data to be generated, the second datagenerator 363 may generate the corresponding first data. Through this,the data transmitter 365 may transmit the first type of the first datato the first edge server 121 through the first communication module 341.Alternatively, the data transmitter 365 may transmit the second type ofthe first data to the second edge server 123 through the secondcommunication module 343. According to various example embodiments, whenboth the first type of the first data and the second type of the firstdata are present, the data transmitter 365 may determine transmissionpriority for the first type of the first data and the second type of thefirst data, and may perform transmission scheduling based on thedetermined transmission priority.

The end device 110 according to various example embodiments may includethe communication module 340 configured to wirelessly communicate withthe edge server 120 managed by the cloud server 130 and the processor360 configured to connect to the communication module 340.

According to various example embodiments, the edge server 120 mayinclude the first edge server 121 of the first wireless network and/orthe second edge server 123 of the second wireless network.

For example, the first wireless network may be a long-distance wirelessnetwork and the second wireless network may be a short-range wirelessnetwork.

According to various example embodiments, the processor 360 may beconfigured to receive a control command from the edge server 120 throughthe communication module 340 and operate according to the controlcommand.

According to various example embodiments, the end device 110 may furtherinclude the driving module 330 configured to perform a physicaloperation.

According to various example embodiments, the processor 360 may operatethe driving module 330 in response to the control command.

According to various example embodiments, the end device 110 may furtherinclude the sensing module 310 configured to collect data.

According to various example embodiments, the processor 360 may beconfigured to transmit data to the edge server 120 through thecommunication module 340.

According to various example embodiments, the processor 360 may beconfigured to generate data, transmit the data to one of the first edgeserver 121 and/or the second edge server 123 through the communicationmodule 340, and receive the control command from one of the first edgeserver 121 and/or the second edge server 123 through the communicationmodule 340.

For example, the processor 360 may be configured to determine which one(e.g., among the first edge server 121 or the second edge server 122) issuitable for transmitting data between the first wireless network andthe second wireless network based on at least one of a type of the data,a resource used to transmit the data, and/or a resource corresponding toa control command to be received in response to the data.

For example, the processor 360 may include the data generator 361configured to generate data, and classify the data into a first typecorresponding to the first wireless network or a second typecorresponding to the second wireless network, and the data transmitter365 configured to transmit the first type of the data to the first edgeserver 121 through the first wireless network and transmit the secondtype of the data to the second edge server 123 through the secondwireless network.

As another example, the processor 360 may include the first datagenerator 362 configured to generate the first type of the datacorresponding to the first wireless network, the second data generator363 configured to generate the second type of the data corresponding tothe second wireless network, and the data transmitter 365 configured totransmit the first type of the data to the first edge server 121 throughthe first wireless network and transmit the second type of the data tothe second edge server 123 through the second wireless network.

According to various example embodiments, the processor 360 may beconfigured to detect a failure of a wireless connection state with theedge server 120 through the communication module 340 and suspend anoperation.

According to various example embodiments, the processor 360 may beconfigured to detect resolution of the failure through the communicationmodule 340 and wait to receive the control command through thecommunication module 340.

According to various example embodiments, the processor 360 may beconfigured to perform a software update according to the controlcommand.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an operation method of the end device110 according to various example embodiments.

Referring to FIG. 4, in operation 411, the end device 110 may beconnected to the edge server 120. The processor 360 may be connected tothe edge server 120 through the communication module 340. According tovarious example embodiments, the communication module 340 may beconnected to the edge server 120 through a wireless network that enablesURLLC. The wireless network may include at least one of a first wirelessnetwork and/or a second wireless network. The first wireless network mayinclude a long-distance wireless network, for example, a 5G network, andthe second wireless network may include a short-range wireless network,for example, a WiFi-6 (WiFi ad/ay).

According to various example embodiments, the edge server 120 mayinclude the first edge server 121 of the first wireless network and thesecond edge server 123 of the second wireless network. The communicationmodule 340 of the end device 110 may include the first communicationmodule 341 configured to communicate using the first wireless networkand the second communication module 343 configured to communicate usingthe second wireless network. In this case, the end device 110 may beconnected to the first edge server 121 outside (e.g., when the enddevice 110 is outside) the communication coverage A of the second edgeserver 123. According to various example embodiments, the processor 360may be connected to the first edge server 121 through the firstcommunication module 341. The end device 110 may be connected to each ofthe first edge server 121 and the second edge server 123 inside (e.g.,when the end device 110 is inside) the communication coverage A of thesecond edge server 123. According to various example embodiments, theprocessor 360 may be connected to the first edge server 121 through thefirst communication module 341 and may be connected to the second edgeserver 123 through the second communication module 343.

In operation 413, the end device 110 may generate first data. The firstdata may include at least one of sensing data about an externalenvironment of the end device 110, state data about the end device 110,and/or a request corresponding to an operation of the end device 110.According to various example embodiments, the sensing data may includelocalization data that represents a distance between the end device 110and a base station, for example, a WiFi AP, and may be used to estimatea position of the end device 110. The processor 360 may collect thesensing data through the sensing module 310 or the camera module 320.For example, the state data may include at least one of identificationinformation of the end device 110, battery (not shown) stateinformation, and/or state information (e.g., idle or working) of thedriving module 330. The processor 360 may collect the localization datausing the communication module 340. For example, the processor 360 maycalculate a distance between the end device 110 and the base stationbased on signal strength received from the base station. According tovarious example embodiments, the processor 360 may mosaic or blur anarea related to a person from an image captured through the cameramodule 320, and may generate the same (e.g., generate an updated versionof the captured image in which the area related to the person mosaickedor blurred) as the first data.

In operation 415, the end device 110 may transmit the first data to theedge server 120. The processor 360 may transmit the first data to theedge server 120 through the communication module 340. According tovarious example embodiments, the processor 360 may transmit the firstdata to the edge server 120 through the first wireless network, forexample, a 5G network, or the second wireless network, for example,WiFi-6 (WiFi ad/ay).

According to various example embodiments, the processor 360 may transmitthe first data to one of the first edge server 121 and/or the secondedge server 123. To this end, the processor 360 may determine whether totransmit the first data to the first edge server 121, or whether totransmit the first data to the second edge server 123, based on thefirst data. For example, the processor 360 may determine which one(e.g., which among the first edge server 121 and the second edge server123) is suitable for transmitting the first data between the firstwireless network and the second wireless network based on at least oneof a data type of the first data, a resource used transmit the firstdata, and/or a resource corresponding to a control command to bereceived in response to the first data. Through this, the processor 360may transmit the first data to the first edge server 121 through thefirst wireless network, or may transmit the first data to the secondedge server 123 through the second wireless network. Further descriptionrelated thereto is made with reference to FIGS. 5B and 5C.

In operation 417, the end device 110 may determine whether the controlcommand has been received from the edge server 120. If the controlcommand has not been received from the edge server 120 in operation 417,the processor 360 may repeat operations 411, 413, 415 and 417.Alternatively, if the control command has been received from the edgeserver 120 in operation 417, the processor may perform an operationaccording to the received control command (operation 419). The processor360 may receive the control command from the edge server 120 through thecommunication module 340. According to various example embodiments, theprocessor 360 may receive the control command from the edge server 120through the first wireless network, for example, a 5G network, orthrough the second wireless network, for example, WiFi-6 (WiFi ad/ay).According to various example embodiments, the processor 360 may receivethe control command with map information related to the end device 110.

According to various example embodiments, the processor 360 may receivethe control command from one of the first edge server 121 and/or thesecond edge server 123. According to various example embodiments, whenthe first data is transmitted to the first edge server 121, theprocessor 360 may receive the control command from the first edge server121. Alternatively, when the first data is transmitted to the secondedge server 123, the processor 360 may receive the control command fromthe second edge server 123.

In operation 419, the end device 110 may operate according to thecontrol command. The processor 360 may control at least one ofcomponents of the end device 110 according to the control command.

According to various example embodiments, the processor 360 may operatethe driving module 330 according to the control command. For example,the control command may include at least one of position coordinates,and/or a speed value, of at least one of a travel route and/or a targetposition of the end device 110. When the control command includes theposition coordinates, the processor 360 may operate the driving module330 to move the end device 110 based on the position coordinates of thecontrol command. When the control command includes the speed value, theprocessor 360 may operate the driving module 330 to move the end device110 based on the speed value of the control command. As another example,the control command may include manipulation variables for processing atask using the end device 110. The processor 360 may control a jointmechanism based on manipulation variables by operating the drivingmodule 330 and may control the end device 110 to process a task.According to various example embodiments, the processor 360 may controlan operation based on sensing data collected through the sensor module310 or the camera module 320 while operating the driving module 330. Forexample, when an obstacle in the travel route of the end device 110 isdetected from the sensing data, the processor 360 may detour theobstacle and move the end device 110.

According to various example embodiments, the processor 360 may performa software update according to the control command. For example, whenthe control command includes update information, the processor 360 mayupdate software of (e.g., stored in) the memory 350 based on the updateinformation.

FIG. 5A is a flowchart illustrating an operation of connecting to theedge server 120 of FIG. 4. FIG. 5A may represent various exampleembodiments of operation 411 of FIG. 4.

Referring to FIG. 5A, in operation 511, the end device 110 may verify aconnection state with the edge server 120. According to various exampleembodiments, when the communication module 340 is connected to the edgeserver 120 through a wireless network, the processor 360 maycontinuously monitor the connection state with the edge server 120through the communication module 340. For example, the processor 360 maydetect at least one of whether a reference signal transmitted from theedge server 120 is received and/or a reception strength of the referencesignal.

In operation 513, the end device 110 may determine whether a failure isdetected from the connection state with the edge server 120. Forexample, if the reference signal transmitted from the edge server 120 isnot received, or if the reception strength is less than a set threshold,the processor 360 may detect a failure.

When the failure is not detected in operation 513, the end device 110may return to FIG. 4 and perform operation 413. For example, when thefailure is resolved within a set period of time, although the failure isdetected in operation 513, the processor 360 may ignore the failure. Ifthe processor 360 is operating according to a control command receivedin advance, the processor 360 may ignore the failure and maycontinuously operate.

On the contrary, when the failure is detected in operation 513, the enddevice 110 may be suspended in operation 515. For example, if thefailure continues for a preset or alternatively, given period of timefrom a point in time at which the failure is detected (e.g., initiallydetected), the processor 360 may determine that the failure is detected(e.g., has occurred). Through this, if the processor 360 is operatingaccording to the control command received in advance, the processor 360may suspend an operation. In operation 517, the end device 110 maydetermine whether the failure is resolved. According to various exampleembodiments, while suspending the operation, the processor 360 maycontinuously monitor the connection state with the edge server 120through the communication module 340. For example, if the referencesignal transmitted from the edge server 120 is not received, or if thereception strength is greater than or equal to a set threshold, theprocessor 360 may determine that the failure is resolved. When thefailure is not resolved in operation 517, the end device 110 may returnto, or continue to perform, operation 515 and may be continuouslysuspended.

On the contrary, when the failure is resolved in operation 517, the enddevice 110 may return to operation 413 of FIG. 4.

According to various example embodiments, the edge server 120 mayinclude the first edge server 121 of the first wireless network and thesecond edge server 123 of the second wireless network. The communicationmodule 340 of the end device 110 may include the first communicationmodule 341 configured to communicate using the first wireless networkand the second communication module 343 configured to communicate usingthe second wireless network. In this case, the processor 360 may monitorconnection states with both the first edge server 121 and the secondedge server 123. According to various example embodiments, the processor360 may monitor the connection state with the first edge server 121through the first communication module 341 and may monitor theconnection state with the second edge server 123 through the secondcommunication module 343. Through this, the processor 360 may beconnected to at least one of the first edge server 121 and/or the secondedge server 123.

FIG. 5B is a flowchart illustrating an example of an operation oftransmitting first data to the edge server 120 of FIG. 4 according tovarious example embodiments. FIG. 5B may represent various exampleembodiments of operation 415 of FIG. 4. According to various exampleembodiments, the edge server 120 may include the first edge server 121of the first wireless network and the second edge server 123 of thesecond wireless network. The communication module 340 of the end device110 may include the first communication module 341 configured tocommunicate using the first wireless network and the secondcommunication module 343 configured to communicate using the secondwireless network.

Referring to FIG. 5B, in operation 521, the end device 110 may determinewhether lower latency transmission is prioritized for first data. Theprocessor 360 may determine whether lower latency transmission isprioritized or whether large capacity transmission rather than the lowerlatency transmission is prioritized for the first data, based on atleast one of the first data and/or a control command to be received fromthe edge server 120 in response to the first data. For example, theprocessor 360 may determine whether the lower latency transmission isprioritized or whether the large capacity transmission is prioritizedfor the first data based on a data type of the first data, a resourceused to transmit the first data, and/or the like. For example, when thefirst data includes localization data or when the control command to bereceived in response to the first data is to be received with mapinformation, the processor 360 may determine that the large capacitytransmission is prioritized for the first data. Otherwise, the processor360 may determine that the lower latency transmission is prioritized forthe first data.

When it is determined that the lower latency transmission is prioritizedfor the first data in operation 521, the end device 110 may transmit thefirst data to the first edge server 121 in operation 527. The processor360 may transmit the first data to the first edge server 121 through thefirst wireless network. According to various example embodiments, theprocessor 360 may transmit the first data to the first edge server 121through the first communication module 341. The end device 110 mayreturn to FIG. 4 and may perform operation 417.

On the contrary, when it is determined that the large capacitytransmission rather than the lower latency transmission is prioritizedfor the first data in operation 521, the end device 110 may determinewhether the end device 110 is connected to the second edge server 123 inoperation 523. The processor 360 may verify a connection state with thesecond edge server 123 through the second wireless network. According tovarious example embodiments, the processor 360 may verify the connectionstate with the second edge server 123 through the second communicationmodule 343. Through this, the processor 360 may determine whetherconnection with the second edge server 123 is maintained.

When it is determined that the end device 110 is connected to the secondedge server 123 in operation 523, the end device 110 may transmit thefirst data to the second edge server 123 in operation 525. The processor360 may transmit the first data to the second edge server 123 throughthe second wireless network. According to various example embodiments,the processor 360 may transmit the first data to the second edge server123 through the second communication module 343. The end device 110 mayreturn to FIG. 4 and may perform operation 417.

On the contrary, when it is determined that the end device 110 is notconnected to the second edge server 123 in operation 523, the end device110 may transmit the first data to the first edge server 121 inoperation 527. The processor 360 may transmit the first data to thefirst edge server 121 through the first wireless network. According tovarious example embodiments, the processor 360 may transmit the firstdata to the first edge server 121 through the first communication module341. That is, when the end device 110 is not connected to the secondedge server 123, the processor 360 may transmit the first data to thefirst edge server 121 although the large capacity transmission ratherthan the lower latency transmission is prioritized for the first data.The end device 110 may return to FIG. 4 and may perform operation 417.

FIG. 5C is a flowchart illustrating another example of an operation oftransmitting first data to the edge server 120 of FIG. 4 according tovarious example embodiments. According to various example embodiments,the edge server 120 may include the first edge server 121 of the firstwireless network and the second edge server 123 of the second wirelessnetwork. The communication module 340 of the end device 110 may includethe first communication module 341 configured to communicate using thefirst wireless network and the second communication module 343configured to communicate using the second wireless network.

Referring to FIG. 5C, in operation 531, the end device 110 may determinewhether lower latency transmission is prioritized for first data. Theprocessor 360 may determine whether lower latency transmission isprioritized or whether large capacity transmission rather than the lowerlatency transmission is prioritized for the first data, based on atleast one of the first data and/or a control command to be received fromthe edge server 120 in response to the first data. For example, theprocessor 360 may determine whether the lower latency transmission isprioritized or whether the large capacity transmission is prioritizedfor the first data based on a data type of the first data, a resourceused to transmit the first data, and/or the like. For example, when thefirst data includes localization data or when the control command to bereceived in response to the first data is to be received with mapinformation, the processor 360 may determine that the large capacitytransmission is prioritized for the first data. Otherwise, the processor360 may determine that the lower latency transmission is prioritized forthe first data.

When it is determined that the lower latency transmission is prioritizedfor the first data in operation 531, the end device 110 may transmit thefirst data to the first edge server 121 in operation 537. The processor360 may transmit the first data to the first edge server 121 through thefirst wireless network. According to various example embodiments, theprocessor 360 may transmit the first data to the first edge server 121through the first communication module 341. The end device 110 mayreturn to FIG. 4 and may perform operation 417.

On the contrary, when it is determined that the large capacitytransmission rather than the lower latency transmission is prioritizedfor the first data in operation 531, the end device 110 may determinewhether the end device 110 is connected to the second edge server 123 inoperation 533. The processor 360 may verify a connection state with thesecond edge server 123 through the second wireless network. According tovarious example embodiments, the processor 360 may verify the connectionstate with the second edge server 123 through the second communicationmodule 343. Through this, the processor 360 may determine whetherconnection with the second edge server 123 is maintained.

When it is determined that the end device 110 is connected to the secondedge server 123 in operation 533, the end device 110 may transmit thefirst data to the second edge server 123 in operation 535. The processor360 may transmit the first data to the second edge server 123 throughthe second wireless network. According to various example embodiments,the processor 360 may transmit the first data to the second edge server123 through the second communication module 343. The end device 110 mayreturn to FIG. 4 and may perform operation 417.

On the contrary, when it is determined that the end device 110 is notconnected to the second edge server 123 in operation 533, the end device110 may wait until the end device 110 is connected to the second edgeserver 123. The processor 360 may wait without transmitting the firstdata until the end device 110 is reconnected to the second edge server123. When it is determined that the end device 110 is connected to thesecond edge server 123 in operation 533, the end device 110 may transmitthe first data to the second edge server 123 in operation 535. Theprocessor 360 may transmit the first data to the second edge server 123through the second wireless network. According to various exampleembodiments, the processor 360 may transmit the first data to the secondedge server 123 through the second communication module 343. That is,when the large capacity transmission rather than the lower latencytransmission is prioritized for the first data, the processor 360 maytransmit the first data only to the second edge server 123. The enddevice 110 may return to FIG. 4 and may perform operation 417.

An operation method of the end device 110 according to various exampleembodiments may include wirelessly connecting to the edge server 120managed by the cloud server 130; wirelessly receiving a control commandfrom the edge server 120; and operating according to the controlcommand.

According to various example embodiments, the edge server 120 mayinclude the first edge server 121 of the first wireless network and thesecond edge server 123 of the second wireless network.

For example, the first wireless network may be a long-distance wirelessnetwork and the second wireless network may be a short-range wirelessnetwork.

According to various example embodiments, the end device 110 may includethe driving module 330 configured to perform a physical operation.

According to various example embodiments, the operating may includeoperating the driving module 330 based on the control command.

According to various example embodiments, the receiving may includecollecting data; wirelessly transmitting the data to the edge server120; and wirelessly receiving the control command generated based on thedata from the edge server 120.

According to various example embodiments, the receiving may includegenerating data; transmitting the data to one of the first edge server121 and/or the second edge server 123; and wirelessly receiving thecontrol command from one of the first edge server 121 and/or the secondedge server 123. For example, the receiving may further includedetermining which one is suitable for transmitting data between thefirst wireless network and the second wireless network based on at leastone of a type of the data, a resource used to transmit the data, and aresource corresponding to the control command to be received in responseto the data.

For example, the generating may further include generating data andclassifying the data into at least one of a first type corresponding tothe first wireless network and/or a second type corresponding to thesecond wireless network. The transmitting may include transmitting thefirst type of the data to the first edge server through the firstwireless network and transmitting the second type of the data to thesecond edge server through the second wireless network.

As another example, the generating may include generating the first typeof the data corresponding to the first wireless network; generating thesecond type of the data corresponding to the second wireless network;transmitting the first type of the data to the first edge server throughthe first wireless network; and transmitting the second type of the datato the second edge server through the second wireless network.

According to various example embodiments, the method may further includedetecting a failure of a wireless connection state with the edge server120; and suspending an operation.

According to various example embodiments, the method may further includedetecting resolution of the failure and waiting to receive the controlcommand.

According to various example embodiments, the operating may includeperforming a software update according to the control command.

FIG. 6A is a diagram illustrating the edge server 120 according tovarious example embodiments. FIG. 6B is a diagram illustrating aprocessor 630 of FIG. 6A.

Referring to FIG. 6A, the edge server 120 according to various exampleembodiments may include at least one of a communication module 610, amemory 620, and/or the processor 630. In various example embodiments, atleast one of the components of the edge server 120 (e.g., thecommunication module 610, the memory 620, and/or the processor 630) maybe omitted and at least one other component may be added. In variousexample embodiments, at least two of the components of the edge server120 may be implemented as a single integrated circuit. According tovarious example embodiments, the edge server 120 may function as aserver for the end device 110 and may function as a client for the cloudserver 130. The edge server 120 may function as a brain of (e.g., toperform processing and/control of) the end device 110 and may controlthe end device 110.

The communication module 610 may support communication with an externaldevice in the edge server 120 (e.g., wireless communication between theedge server 120 and the external device). According to various exampleembodiments, the communication module 610 may support establishing awireless channel with the external device and performing communicationthrough the communication channel. According to various exampleembodiments, the communication module 610 may include a firstcommunication module and a second communication module. The firstcommunication module may communicate with the end device 110 through awireless network that enables URLLC. The wireless network may include atleast one of the first wireless network and/or the second wirelessnetwork. The first wireless network may include a long-distance wirelessnetwork, for example, a 5G network, and the second wireless network mayinclude a short-range wireless network, for example, a WiFi-6 (WiFiad/ay). The second communication module may communicate with the cloudserver 130. For example, the second communication module may communicatewith the cloud server 130 through the Internet. According to variousexample embodiments, the first communication module and the secondcommunication module may be integrated into a single component (e.g., asingle chip) or may be implemented as separate components (e.g., aplurality of chips). The communication module 610 may verify andauthenticate the edge server 120 based on stored identificationinformation.

According to various example embodiments, the edge server 120 may be oneof the first edge server 121 and/or the second edge server 123. When theedge server 120 is the first edge server 121, the communication module610, that is, the first communication module may communicate with theend device 110 through the first wireless network, for example, a 5Gnetwork. When the edge server 120 is the second edge server 123, thecommunication module 610, that is, the first communication module maycommunicate with the end device 110 through the second wireless network,for example, a WiFi-6 (WiFi ad/ay).

The memory 620 may store data used by at least one of the components ofthe edge server 120. The memory 620 may include a volatile memory and/ora nonvolatile memory.

The processor 630 may control the overall operation of the edge server120. The processor 630 may communicate with each of the end device 110and the cloud server 130 through the communication module 610. Accordingto various example embodiments, referring to FIG. 6B, the processor 630may include at least one of a data processing module 631, a controldetection module 633, an end control module 635, an end managementmodule 637, and/or a learning module 639.

The data processing module 631 may process data between the end device110 and the cloud server 130. According to various example embodiments,the data processing module 631 may receive first data from the enddevice 110 through the communication module 610. The first data mayinclude at least one of sensing data about an external environment ofthe end device 110 and/or state data about the end device 110. The dataprocessing module 631 may process the first data. According to variousexample embodiments, the data processing module 631 may detect seconddata based on the first data. The second data may include at least oneof a processing result of the first data and/or a request for the enddevice 110. For example, when the first data includes localization dataof the end device 110, the data processing module 631 may estimate aposition of the end device 110 (e.g., second data) based on thelocalization data. According to various example embodiments, the dataprocessing module 631 may estimate a position of the end device 110using a fine timing measurement (FTM) function. The data processingmodule 631 may transmit the second data to the cloud server 130 throughthe communication module 610. Also, the data processing module 631 mayreceive third data from the cloud server 130. The third data may includeat least one of a processing result of the second data and a response tothe request for the end device 110.

The control detection module 633 may determine a control command for theend device 110. According to various example embodiments, the controldetection module 633 may determine the control command based on at leastone of the first data and/or the third data. According to variousexample embodiments, the control command may be for controlling a motionof the end device 110. According to various example embodiments, thecontrol command may be for updating software of the end device 110.

The end control module 635 may control the end device 110 using thecontrol command. To this end, the end control module 635 may transmitthe control command to the end device 110 through the communicationmodule 610.

The end management module 637 may manage the end device 110 controlledby the edge server 120. According to various example embodiments, theend management module 637 may manage a single end device 110 and/or mayalso manage a plurality of end devices 110. According to various exampleembodiments, the end management module 637 may manage each of the enddevices 110 based on identification information of each correspondingend device 110. For example, the end management module 637 may monitoreach of the end devices 110 based on at least one of the first data, thesecond data, and/or the third data. The end management module 637 maydesign an operation plan related to each of the end devices 110, forexample, a charging plan. Also, the end management module 637 may detectmap information related to the end device 110.

The learning module 639 may perform machine learning based on the seconddata. According to various example embodiments, the learning module 639may acquire at least a portion of the third data based on the seconddata. The learning module 639 may provide at least a portion of thethird data to the control detection module 633.

The edge server 120 according to various example embodiments may includethe communication module 610 configured to communicate with the cloudserver 130 that is configured to manage at least one end device 110 andthe edge server 120 and the processor 630 configured to connect to thecommunication module 610.

According to various example embodiments, the edge server 120 mayinclude the first edge server 121 of the first wireless network and thesecond edge server 123 of the second wireless network.

For example, the first wireless network may be a long-distance wirelessnetwork and the second wireless network may be a short-range wirelessnetwork.

According to various example embodiments, the processor 630 may beconfigured to determine a control command for the end device 110 andwirelessly transmit the control command to the end device 110 throughthe communication module 610.

According to various example embodiments, the processor 630 may beconfigured to wirelessly receive the first data collected by the enddevice 110 through the communication module 610 and determine thecontrol command based on the first data.

According to various example embodiments, the processor 630 may beconfigured to determine whether to cooperate with the cloud server 130based on the first data and, when the processor 630 determines not tocooperate with the cloud server 130, determine the control command andtransmit the control command within a set control period.

According to various example embodiments, when the processor 630determines to cooperate with the cloud server 130, the processor 630 maybe configured to process the first data, detect the second data from thefirst data, transmit the second data to the cloud server 130 through thecommunication module 610, receive the third data corresponding to thesecond data from the cloud server 130 through the communication module610, and determine the control command using the third data.

According to various example embodiments, the processor 630 may beconfigured to receive update information from the cloud server 130through the communication module 610 and determine the control commandfor updating software of the end device 110 based on the updateinformation.

FIG. 7A is a flowchart illustrating an operation method of the edgeserver 120 according to various example embodiments.

Referring to FIG. 7A, in operation 711, the edge server 120 may beconnected to the end device 110 and the cloud server 130. The processor630 may be connected to the end device 110 and the cloud server 130through the communication module 610. According to various exampleembodiments, the communication module 610 may be connected to the enddevice 110 through a wireless network that enables URLLC. The wirelessnetwork may include at least one of a first wireless network and/or asecond wireless network. The first wireless network may include along-distance wireless network, for example, a 5G network, and thesecond wireless network may include a short-range wireless network, forexample, WiFi-6 WiFi (ad/ay). The communication module 610 may beconnected to the cloud server 130, for example, through the Internet.

According to various example embodiments, the edge server 120 may be oneof the first edge server 121 of the first wireless network and/or thesecond edge server 123 of the second wireless network. When the edgeserver 120 is the first edge server 121, the processor 630 may beconnected to the end device 110 through the communication module 610.When the edge server 120 is the second edge server 123, the processor630 may be connected to the end device 110 through the communicationmodule 610. According to various example embodiments, as the end device110 is positioned inside the communication coverage A of the second edgeserver 123, the processor 630 (e.g., the processor 630 of the secondedge server 123) may be connected to the end device 110 through thecommunication module 610.

In operation 713, the edge server 120 may receive first data from theend device 110. The processor 630 may receive the first data from theend device 110 through the communication module 610. The first data mayinclude at least one of sensing data about an external environment ofthe end device 110, state data about the end device 110, and/or arequest used for an operation of the end device 110. For example, thestate data may include at least one of identification information of theend device 110, battery (not shown) state information, and/or stateinformation of the driving module 330.

In operation 715, the edge server 120 may determine whether to cooperatewith the cloud server 130, to control the end device 110. According tovarious example embodiments, the edge server 120 may determine whetherto cooperate with the cloud server 130 based on the first data. Forexample, the processor 630 may determine whether to cooperate with thecloud server 130 depending on whether the first data includes anindicator for indicating cooperation between the edge server 120 and thecloud server 130. When the first data does not include the indicator,the processor 630 may determine to independently control the end device110. When the first data includes the indicator, the processor 630 maydetermine to control the end device 110 in cooperation with the cloudserver 130. As another example, the processor 630 may determine whetherto cooperate with the cloud server 130 based on an attribute, forexample, at least one of a size and/or importance, of the first data. Ifthe size of the first data is less than a set value or if the importanceof the first data is less than a set standard, the processor 630 maydetermine to independently control the end device 110. If the size ofthe first data is greater than or equal to the set value, or if theimportance of the first data is greater than or equal to the setstandard, the processor 630 may determine to control the end device 110in cooperation with the cloud server 130. As another example, theprocessor 630 may estimate an amount of time used to control the enddevice 110 based on the first data. According to various exampleembodiments, the processor 630 may estimate an amount of time used tocontrol the end device 110 based on the attribute of the first data, ora current situation of at least one of the end device 110 and/or theedge server 120. When the amount of time used to control the end device110 is estimated to be less than or equal to a set control period, theprocessor 630 may determine to independently control the end device 110.When the amount of time used to control the end device 110 is estimatedto exceed the set control period, the processor 630 may determine tocontrol the end device 110 in cooperation with the cloud server 130.

When the processor 630 determines to cooperate with the cloud server 130in operation 715, the edge server 120 may process the first data inoperation 717. The processor 630 may process the first data. Accordingto various example embodiments, the processor 630 may detect second databased on the first data. The second data may include at least one of aprocessing result of the first data and/or a request for the end device110. The processing result of the first data may include, for example,at least one of sensing data of the end device 110, state data of theend device 110, a position of the end device 110, a map related to theend device 110, at least one point of interest (POI), and/or a taskprocessing level. The request for the end device 110 may include atleast one of a data search request and/or a request for updateinformation for updating software of the end device 110. To this end,the processor 630 may specify a position of the end device 110.Alternatively or additionally, the processor 630 may generate or updatea map about a surrounding area of the end device 110. Alternatively oradditionally, the processor 630 may extract a POI from the map about thesurrounding area of the end device 110. Alternatively or additionally,the processor 630 may detect a task processing level of the end device110. According to various example embodiments, when the first dataincludes an image that includes a person, the processor 630 may mosaicor blur an area related to the person from the image. In operation 719,the edge server 120 may transmit the second data to the cloud server130. The processor 630 may transmit the second data to the cloud server130 through the communication module 610.

In operation 721, the edge server 120 may detect third data. Accordingto various example embodiments, the processor 630 may receive the thirddata from the cloud server 130 through the communication module 610. Thethird data may include at least one of a processing result of the seconddata and/or a response to the request for the end device 110. Theprocessing result of the second data may include, for example, at leastone of latest map information that is updated based on the map relatedto the end device 110 and/or a machine learning result using the seconddata. The response to the request for the end device 110 may include,for example, at least one of a data search result and/or updateinformation for the end device 110. According to various exampleembodiments, the processor 630 may process the second data and maydetect third data based on the second data. According to various exampleembodiments, the processor 630 may perform machine learning using thesecond data. The third data may represent the processing result of thesecond data. The processing result of the second data may include, forexample, at least one of latest map information updated based on the maprelated to the end device 110, task information to be processed throughthe end device 110, and/or the machine learning result using the seconddata.

In operation 723, the edge server 120 may determine a control commandfor the end device 110. The processor 630 may determine the controlcommand based on at least one of the first data and/or the third data.According to various example embodiments, the control command may be forcontrolling a motion of the end device 110. According to various exampleembodiments, the processor 630 may determine the control command basedon at least one of a position of the end device 110, the map related tothe end device 110, and/or at least one POI. For example, the controlcommand may include at least one of position coordinates, and/or a speedvalue, of at least one of a travel route and/or a target position of theend device 110. As another example, the control command may includemanipulation variables for processing a task using the end device 110.According to various example embodiments, the control command may be forupdating software of the end device 110. In operation 725, the edgeserver 120 may transmit the control command to the end device 110. Theprocessor 630 may transmit the control command to the end device 110through the communication module 610.

When the processor 630 determines not to cooperate with the cloud server130 in operation 715, the edge server 120 may determine the controlcommand for the end device 110 in operation 723. The processor 630 maydetermine the control command based on the first data. According tovarious example embodiments, the control command may be for controllinga motion of the end device 110. According to various exampleembodiments, the processor 630 may determine the control command basedon at least one of the position of the end device 110, the map relatedto the end device 110, and/or at least one POI. For example, the controlcommand may include at least one of position coordinates, and/or a speedvalue, of at least one of a travel route and/or a target position of theend device 110. As another example, the control command may includemanipulation variables for processing a task using the end device 110.In operation 725, the edge server 120 may transmit the control commandto the end device 110. The processor 630 may transmit the controlcommand to the end device 110 through the communication module 610.According to various example embodiments, the edge server 120 maydetermine the control command based on the first data and may transmitthe control command within a set control period. The control period maybe determined based on a sum of an amount of time used to determine thecontrol command based on the first data and an amount of time used totransmit the control command to the end device 110. For example, the setcontrol period may be 5 ms and the edge server 120 may determine thecontrol command based on the first data for 4 ms and may transmit thecontrol command to the end device 110 for 1 ms. According to variousexample embodiments, the second edge server 123 may transmit the controlcommand with map information related to the end device 110.

According to various example embodiments, the edge server 120 may be oneof the first edge server 121 of the first wireless network and/or thesecond edge server 123 of the second wireless network. In this case, thefirst edge server 121 and the second edge server 123 may operate in thesame manner or similar manners. According to various exampleembodiments, as illustrated in FIG. 7A, the first edge server 121 andthe second edge server 123 may individually operate. According tovarious example embodiments, the first edge server 121 may communicatewith the end device 110 through the first wireless network, for example,a 5G network, and the second edge server 123 may communicate with theend device 110 through the second wireless network, for example, WiFi-6(WiFi ad/ay). Alternatively, each of the first edge server 121 and thesecond edge server 123 may operate in a different manner. According tovarious example embodiments, the first edge server 121 may operate asillustrated in FIG. 7B and the second edge server 123 may operate asillustrated in FIG. 7A. Likewise, the first edge server 121 maycommunicate with the end device 110 through the first wireless network,for example, a 5G network, and the second edge server 123 maycommunicate with the end device 110 through the second wireless network,for example, a WiFi-6 (WiFi ad/ay).

FIG. 7B is a flowchart illustrating an operation method of the edgeserver 120 according to various example embodiments. FIG. 7B illustratesan operation method of the first edge server 121.

Referring to FIG. 7B, in operation 731, the first edge server 121 may beconnected to the end device 110 and the cloud server 130. The processor630 may be connected to the end device 110 and the cloud server 130through the communication module 610. According to various exampleembodiments, the communication module 610 may be connected to the enddevice 110 through the first wireless network that enables URLLC. Thefirst wireless network may include a long-distance wireless network, forexample, a 5G network. The communication module 610 may be connected tothe cloud server 130, for example, through the Internet.

In operation 733, the first edge server 121 may receive first data fromthe end device 110. The processor 630 may receive the first data fromthe end device 110 through the communication module 610. The first datamay include at least one of sensing data about an external environmentof the end device 110, state data about the end device 110, and/or arequest used for an operation of the end device 110. For example, thestate data may include at least one of identification information of theend device 110, battery (not shown) state information, and/or stateinformation of the driving module 330.

In operation 735, the first edge server 120 may determine a controlcommand for the end device 110. The processor 630 may determine thecontrol command based on the first data. For example, the controlcommand may be for controlling a motion of the end device 110. Accordingto various example embodiments, the processor 630 may determine thecontrol command based on at least one of a position of the end device110, a map related to the end device 110, and/or at least one POI. Forexample, the control command may include at least one of positioncoordinates, and/or a speed value, of at least one of a travel routeand/or a target position of the end device 110. As another example, thecontrol command may include manipulation variables for processing a taskusing the end device 110. In operation 737, the first edge server 121may transmit the control command to the end device 110. The processor630 may transmit the control command to the end device 110 through thecommunication module 610.

According to various example embodiments, the first edge server 121 mayoperate as illustrated in FIG. 7B and the second edge server 123 mayoperate as illustrated in FIG. 7A. That is, the second edge server 123may determine the control command based on the first data, or may detectthe third data in cooperation with the cloud server 130 and maydetermine the control command based on the third data. For example, thecontrol command may be for controlling a motion of the end device 110and/or also may be for updating software of the end device 110. Throughthis, the second edge server 123 may transmit the control command to theend device 1110. According to various example embodiments, the secondedge server 123 may also transmit the control command with mapinformation related to the end device 110.

An operation method of the edge server 120 according to various exampleembodiments may include wirelessly connecting to at least one end device110 during connection to the cloud server 130 that is configured tomanage the edge server 120; determining a control command for the enddevice 110; and wirelessly transmitting the control command to the enddevice 110.

According to various example embodiments, the edge server 120 may be thefirst edge server 121 of the first wireless network or the second edgeserver 123 of the second wireless network.

For example, the first wireless network may be a long-distance wirelessnetwork and the second wireless network may be a short-range wirelessnetwork.

According to various example embodiments, the determining may includewirelessly receiving first data collected by the end device 110; anddetermining the control command based on the first data.

According to various example embodiments, the determining may furtherinclude processing the first data and detecting second data from thefirst data; transmitting the second data to the cloud server 130;receiving third data corresponding to the second data from the cloudserver 130; and determining the control command based on the third data.

According to various example embodiments, the transmitting may includereceiving update information from the cloud server 130; and determiningthe control command for updating software of the end device 110 based onthe update information.

FIG. 8A is a diagram illustrating the cloud server 130 according tovarious example embodiments. FIG. 8B illustrates a processor 830 of FIG.8A.

Referring to FIG. 8A, the cloud server 130 according to various exampleembodiments may include at least one of a communication module 810, amemory 820, and/or the processor 830. In various example embodiments, atleast one of the components of the cloud server 130 (e.g., thecommunication module 810, the memory 820 and/or the processor 830) maybe omitted and at least one other component may be added. In variousexample embodiments, at least two of the components of the cloud server130 may be implemented as a single integrated circuit.

The communication module 810 may support communication with an externaldevice in the cloud server 130 (e.g., wireless communication between thecloud server 130 and the external device). According to various exampleembodiments, the communication module 810 may support establishing awireless communication channel with the external device and performingcommunication through the communication channel. According to variousexample embodiments, the communication module 810 may communicate withthe edge server 120. For example, the communication module 810 maycommunicate with the edge server 120 through the Internet. Thecommunication module 810 may verify and authenticate the cloud server130 based on stored identification information.

The memory 820 may store data used by at least one of the components ofthe cloud server 130. The memory 820 may include a volatile memoryand/or a non-volatile memory.

The processor 830 may control the overall operation of the cloud server130. The processor 830 may communicate with the edge server 120 throughthe communication module 810. According to various example embodiments,referring to FIG. 8B, the processor 830 may include at least one of acontrol module 831, a service module 833, a data management module 835,and/or a learning module 837.

The control module 831 may manage the end device 110 and/or the edgeserver 120. According to various example embodiments, the control module831 may manage the end device 110 and the edge server 120 based onidentification information of the end device 110 and identificationinformation of the edge server 120. The control module 831 may managethe end device 110 and the edge server 120 by associating the edgeserver 120 with the end device 110 controlled by the edge server 120.According to various example embodiments, the control module 831 maymanage a state of the end device 110 and/or a state of the edge server120.

The service module 833 may provide a cloud service for at least one ofthe end device 110 and/or the edge server 120. According to variousexample embodiments, the service module 833 may receive second data fromthe edge server 120 through the communication module 810. The seconddata may include at least one of a processing result of the first dataand/or a request for the end device 110. The service module 833 maytransmit third data to the edge server 120 through the communicationmodule 810. The third data may include at least one of a processingresult of the second data and/or a response to the request for the enddevice 110.

The data management module 835 may store a variety of information forthe cloud service. For example, the data management module 835 may storemap information or task information. The task information may include,for example, at least one task model able to be processed by the enddevice 110. The data management module 835 may update information basedon the first data or the third data. For example, the data managementmodule 835 may update the map information based on a map about asurrounding area of the end device 110.

The learning module 837 may process the second data. According tovarious example embodiments, the learning module 837 may perform machinelearning based on the second data. Through this, the learning module 837may acquire the third data based on the second data.

The cloud server 130 according to various example embodiments mayinclude the communication module 810 configured to communicate with atleast one edge server 120 that is configured to control at least one enddevice 110 and the processor 830 configured to connect to thecommunication module 810.

According to various example embodiments, the processor 830 may beconfigured to receive data related to the end device 110 from the edgeserver 120 through the communication module 810 and process the data.

According to various example embodiments, the data may include seconddata detected by the edge server 120 from first data collected by theend device 110.

According to various example embodiments, the processor 830 may beconfigured to process the second data, detect third data correspondingto the second data, and transmit the third data to the edge server 120through the communication module 810.

According to various example embodiments, the processor 830 may beconfigured to transmit update information for updating software of theend device 110 to the edge server 120 through the communication module810.

According to various example embodiments, the edge server 120 mayinclude at least one of the first edge server 121 of the first wirelessnetwork and/or the second edge server 123 of the second wirelessnetwork.

For example, the first wireless network may be a long-distance wirelessnetwork and the second wireless network may be a short-range wirelessnetwork.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an operation method of the cloudserver 130 according to various example embodiments.

Referring to FIG. 9, in operation 911, the cloud server 130 may beconnected to the edge server 120. The processor 830 may be connected tothe edge server 120 through the communication module 810. For example,the communication module 810 may be connected to the edge server 120through the Internet.

In operation 913, the cloud server 130 may receive second data from theedge server 120. The processor 830 may receive the second data from theedge server 120 through the communication module 810. The second datamay include at least one of a processing result of the first data and/ora request for the end device 110. The processing result of the firstdata may include, for example, at least one of sensing data of the enddevice 110, state data of the end device 110, a position of the enddevice 110, a map related to the end device 110, at least one POI,and/or a task processing level of the end device 110. The request forthe end device 110 may include at least one of a data search requestand/or a request for update information for updating software of the enddevice 110.

In operation 915, the cloud server 130 may process the second data. Theprocessor 830 may process the second data. According to various exampleembodiments, the processor 830 may detect third data based on the seconddata. To this end, the processor 830 may perform machine learning usingthe second data. The third data may include at least one of a processingresult of the second data and/or a response to the request for the enddevice 110. The processing result of the second data may include, forexample, at least one of latest map information that is updated based onthe map related to the end device 110, task information to be processedthrough the end device 110, and/or a machine learning result using thesecond data. The response to the request for the end device 110 mayinclude, for example, at least one of a data search result and/or updateinformation for the end device 110.

According to various example embodiments, in operation 917, the cloudserver 130 may transmit the third data to the edge server 120. Theprocessor 830 may transmit the third data to the edge server 120 throughthe communication module 810. For example, the processor 830 maytransmit at least one of the processing result of the second data and/orthe response to a request for the end device 110 as the third data. Asanother example, the processor 830 may transmit the response to therequest for the end device 110 as the third data without transmittingthe processing result of the second data. That is, although theprocessing result using the second data is detected as the third data,the processor 830 may not transmit the same.

On the contrary, when the cloud server 130 does not receive second datafrom the edge server 120 in operation 913, the cloud server 130 mayreturn to operation 911. For example, the cloud server 130 mayre-connect to the edge server 911. Alternatively or additionally, thecloud server 130 may wait until the second data is received from theedge server 120. When the second data is received from the edge server120 in operation 913, the cloud server 130 may process the second datain operation 915.

An operation method of the cloud server 130 according to various exampleembodiments may include connecting to at least one edge server 120 thatis configured to control at least one end device 110; receiving datarelated to the end device 110 from the edge server 120; and processingthe data.

According to various example embodiments, the data may include seconddata detected by the edge server 120 from first data collected by theend device 110.

According to various example embodiments, the processing may includeprocessing the second data and detecting third data corresponding to thesecond data; and transmitting the third data to the edge server 120.

According to various example embodiments, the method may further includetransmitting update information for updating software of the end device110 to the edge server 120.

According to various example embodiments, the edge server 120 mayinclude at least one of the first edge server 121 of the first wirelessnetwork and/or the second edge server 123 of the second wirelessnetwork.

For example, the first wireless network may be a long-distance wirelessnetwork and the second wireless network may be a short-range wirelessnetwork.

According to various example embodiments, the edge server 120 mayfunction as a brain of (e.g., to perform processing and/control of) theat least one end device 110 and may wirelessly control the end device110. That is, since the edge server 120 processes a control command forthe end device 110, the end device 110 may operate according to thecontrol command. Accordingly, higher processing performance is notdemanded from the end device 110. Manufacturing cost of the end device110 may be reduced and an amount of power consumed by the end device 110may be reduced. Regardless of a size of the end device 110, higherperformance and higher precision operation may be achieved. In addition,the edge server 120 may control a plurality of end devices 110 based onhigher processing performance. In the communication system 100 thatincludes the end device 110 and the edge server 120, the efficiency ofusing resources including cost or power may be improved. Also, since thecloud server 130 updates software of the end device 110 through the edgeserver 120, the end device 110 may be maintained up to date.

According to various example embodiments, in the communication system100, the first edge server 121 of the first wireless network and thesecond edge server 123 of the second wireless network may operatecomplementarily. The first edge server 121 may enable lower latencytransmission for the end device 110 and the second edge server 123 mayenable large capacity transmission for the end device 110. According tovarious example embodiments, the second edge server 123 may estimate aposition of the end device 110 using localization data received from theend device 110. In addition, the end device 110 may operate even in ashadowing area through the first edge server 121 and the second edgeserver 123.

A trade-off exists between a larger and smaller processors. For example,a larger processor is capable of higher performance (e.g., throughput,quantity of computations, complexity of computations, etc.) and higherprecision (e.g., computations of higher precision), but is more costlyto manufacture, consumes greater resources (e.g., power, etc.), and itslarge physical size limits the types of applications for which thelarger processor is useful. On the contrary, a smaller processor is lesscostly to manufacture, consumes fewer resources (e.g., power, etc.), andis useful for a wide variety of applications (e.g., mobile,battery-powered devices, etc.) due to its smaller physical size, but isless capable of higher performance (e.g., throughput, quantity ofcomputations, complexity of computations, etc.) and higher precision(e.g., computations of higher precision).

Conventional devices and methods for controlling a robot involveincorporating a larger processor in the robot to enable higherperformance (e.g., throughput, quantity of computations, complexity ofcomputations, etc.) and higher precision (e.g., computations of higherprecision). Accordingly, the conventional devices and methods areexcessively costly and consume excessive resources (e.g., power, etc.).Also, the conventional devices and methods are unable to, or experiencedifficulty in, implementing a small-sized robot due to the physical sizeof the larger processor.

However, various example embodiments provide improved devices andmethods for controlling a robot through the use of an edge server and/orcloud server. For example, the edge server and/or cloud server receivesdata from the robot, performs computations (e.g., higher performanceand/or higher precision computations), and returns control commands tothe robot. Accordingly, the robot is able to operate according to theresults of higher performance and/or higher precision computations whilealso incorporating a smaller processor in the robot, and therebyovercoming the deficiencies of the conventional devices and methods byreducing manufacturing costs and resource consumption while permittingthe implementation of a small-sized robot.

According to various example embodiments, operations described herein asbeing performed by the end device 110, the edge server 120, the cloudserver 130, the first edge server 121, the second edge server 123, theprocessor 360, the data generator 361, the data transmitter 365, thefirst data generator 362, the second data generator 363, the processor630, the data processing module 631, the control detection module 633,the end control module 635, the end management module 637, the learningmodule 639, the processor 830, the control module 831, the servicemodule 833, the data management module 835, and/or the learning module837 may be performed using, for example, hardware including logiccircuits; a hardware/software combination such as at least one processorexecuting software; or a combination thereof. For example, such hardwaremay include, but is not limited to, a central processing unit (CPU), anarithmetic logic unit (ALU), a digital signal processor, amicrocomputer, a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a System-on-Chip(SoC), a programmable logic unit, a microprocessor, application-specificintegrated circuit (ASIC), etc.

In various example embodiments, the hardware including logic circuits;the hardware/software combination (e.g., the at least one processorexecuting software); or the combination thereof may perform someoperations (e.g., the operations described herein as being performed bythe machine learning model, the learning module 639 and/or the learningmodule 837) by artificial intelligence and/or machine learning. As anexample, the hardware including logic circuits; the hardware/softwarecombination (e.g., the at least one processor executing software); orthe combination thereof may implement an artificial neural network thatis trained on a set of training data by, for example, a supervised,unsupervised, and/or reinforcement learning model, and wherein thehardware including logic circuits; the hardware/software combination(e.g., the at least one processor executing software); or thecombination thereof may process a feature vector to provide output basedupon the training. Such artificial neural networks may utilize a varietyof artificial neural network organizational and processing models, suchas convolutional neural networks (CNN), recurrent neural networks (RNN)optionally including long short-term memory (LSTM) units and/or gatedrecurrent units (GRU), stacking-based deep neural networks (S-DNN),state-space dynamic neural networks (S-SDNN), deconvolution networks,deep belief networks (DBN), and/or restricted Boltzmann machines (RBM).Alternatively or additionally, the hardware including logic circuits;the hardware/software combination (e.g., the at least one processorexecuting software); or the combination thereof may include other formsof artificial intelligence and/or machine learning, such as, forexample, linear and/or logistic regression, statistical clustering,Bayesian classification, decision trees, dimensionality reduction suchas principal component analysis, and expert systems; and/or combinationsthereof, including ensembles such as random forests.

Various example embodiments and the terms used herein are not construedto limit the techniques described herein to specific examples and may beunderstood to include various modifications, equivalents, and/orsubstitutions. Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughoutin relation to description of the drawings. As used herein, the singularforms “a,” “an,” and “the,” are intended to include the plural forms aswell, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. Herein, theexpressions, “A or B,” “at least one of A and/or B,” “A, B, or C,” “atleast one of A, B, and/or C,” and the like may include any possiblecombinations of listed items. Terms “first,” “second,” etc., are used todescribe various components and the components should not be limited bythe terms. The terms are simply used to distinguish one component fromanother component. When a component (e.g., a first component) isdescribed to be “(functionally or communicatively) connected to” or“accessed to” another component (e.g., a second component), thecomponent may be directly connected to the other component or may beconnected through still another component (e.g., a third component).

The term “module” used herein may include a unit configured as hardware,software, or firmware, and may be interchangeably used with, forexample, the terms “logic,” “logic block,” “part,” “circuit,” etc. Themodule may be an integrally configured part, a minimum or smallest unitthat performs at least one function, or a portion thereof. For example,the module may be configured as an application-specific integratedcircuit (ASIC).

Various example embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented assoftware that includes one or more commands stored in a storage medium(e.g., the memory 350, the memory 620, and the memory 820) readable by amachine (e.g., the end device 110, the edge server 120, and the cloudserver 130). For example, a processor (e.g., the processor 360, theprocessor 630, and the processor 830) of the machine may call at leastone command from among the one or more commands stored in the storagemedium and may execute the same. This enables the machine to perform atleast one function according to the called at least one command. The oneor more commands may include a code generated by a compiler or a codeexecutable by an interpreter. The storage medium readable by the machinemay be provided in a form of a non-transitory storage medium.“Non-transitory” may represent that the storage medium is a tangibledevice and does not include a signal (e.g., an electromagnetic wave) andthe term does not distinguish a case in which data is semi-permanentlystored in the storage medium and a case in which the data is temporarilystored.

According to various example embodiments, each component (e.g., moduleor program) of the aforementioned components may include a singularentity or a plurality of entities. According to various exampleembodiments, at least one component or operation among theaforementioned components or operations may be omitted, or at least oneother component or operation may be added. Alternately or additionally,the plurality of components (e.g., module or program) may be integratedinto a single component. In this case, the integrated component mayperform the same or similar functionality as being performed by acorresponding component among a plurality of components beforeintegrating at least one function of each component of the plurality ofcomponents. According to various example embodiments, operationsperformed by a module, a program, or another component may be performedin parallel, repeatedly, or heuristically, or at least one of theoperations may be performed in different order or omitted.Alternatively, at least one other operation may be added.

What is claimed is:
 1. An end device comprising: a communication moduleconfigured to wirelessly communicate with an edge server managed by acloud server; and at least one processor connected to the communicationmodule, the at least one processor configured to, receive a controlcommand from the edge server through the communication module, andoperate according to the control command.
 2. The end device of claim 1,wherein the edge server comprises: a first edge server connected to afirst wireless network, and a second edge server connected to a secondwireless network; and the at least one processor is configured to,generate data, transmit the data to one of the first edge server or thesecond edge server through the communication module, and receive thecontrol command from one of the first edge server or the second edgeserver through the communication module.
 3. The end device of claim 2,wherein the at least one processor is configured to determine a networkamong the first wireless network and the second wireless network fortransmitting the data based on at least one of a type of the data, aresource used to transmit the data, or a resource corresponding to thecontrol command.
 4. The end device of claim 2, wherein the at least oneprocessor is configured to transmit a first type of data to the firstedge server through the first wireless network and transmit a secondtype of data to the second edge server through the second wirelessnetwork.
 5. The end device of claim 1, further comprising: a drivingmodule configured to perform a physical operation, wherein the at leastone processor is configured to operate the driving module based on thecontrol command.
 6. An operation method performed by the end device ofclaim 1, the method comprising: wirelessly connecting to an edge servermanaged by a cloud server; wirelessly receiving a control command fromthe edge server; and operating according to the control command.
 7. Anedge server for controlling at least one end device, the edge servercomprising: a communication module configured to communicate with acloud server, the cloud server being is configured to manage the enddevice and the edge server; and at least one processor connected to thecommunication module the at least one processor configured to, determinea control command for the end device, and wirelessly transmit thecontrol command to the end device through the communication module. 8.The edge server of claim 7, wherein the at least one processor isconfigured to: wirelessly receive first data collected by the end devicethrough the communication module; and determine the control commandbased on the first data.
 9. The edge server of claim 8, wherein the atleast one processor is configured to: determine whether to cooperatewith the cloud server based on the first data; and perform one of,determining the control command in response to determining not tocooperate with the cloud server, and transmitting the control commandwithin a set control period, or processing the first data in response todetermining to cooperate with the cloud server, detecting second datafrom the first data, transmitting the second data to the cloud serverthrough the communication module, receiving third data corresponding tothe second data from the cloud server through the communication module,and determining the control command based on the third data.
 10. Theedge server of claim 7, wherein the at least one processor is configuredto: receive update information from the cloud server through thecommunication module; and determine the control command based on theupdate information, the control command being configured to cause theend device to update software.
 11. An operation method performed by theedge server of claim 7, the method comprising: wirelessly connecting tothe end device while maintaining a connection to a cloud server, thecloud server being configured to manage the edge server; determining acontrol command for the end device; and wirelessly transmitting thecontrol command to the end device.
 12. A cloud server comprising: acommunication module configured to communicate with at least one edgeserver, the at least one edge server being configured to control atleast one end device; and at least one processor connected to thecommunication module, the at least one processor configured to, receivedata from the edge server through the communication module, the databeing related to the end device, and process the data.
 13. The cloudserver of claim 12, wherein the data comprises second data detected bythe edge server based on first data collected by the end device; and theat least one processor is configured to, process the second data anddetect third data corresponding to the second data, and transmit thethird data to the edge server through the communication module.
 14. Thecloud server of claim 12, wherein the at least one processor isconfigured to: transmit update information to the edge server throughthe communication module, the update information corresponding to asoftware update for the end device.
 15. An operation method performed bythe cloud server of claim 12, the method comprising: connecting to atleast one edge server configured to control at least one end device;receiving data related to the end device from the edge server; andprocessing the data.
 16. A communication system for three parties, thecommunication system comprising: at least one end device configured tocollect data; at least one edge server configured to wirelessly controlthe at least one end device; and a cloud server configured to connect tothe at least one edge server, and manage the at least one end device andthe at least one edge server, wherein the at least one edge server isconfigured to wirelessly receive the data from the at least one enddevice, determine a control command based on the data, and wirelesslytransmit the control command to the at least one end device, and the atleast one end device is configured to wirelessly receive the controlcommand from the at least one edge server, and operate according to thecontrol command.
 17. The communication system of claim 16, wherein theat least one edge server comprises a first edge server of a firstwireless network and a second edge server of a second wireless network;and the at least one end device is configured to, transmit the data toone of the first edge server or the second edge server, and wirelesslyreceive the control command from one of the first edge server or thesecond edge server.
 18. The communication system of claim 17, whereinthe first edge server is configured to: determine the control commandbased on the data; and transmit the control command to the end devicethrough the first wireless network.
 19. The communication system ofclaim 17, wherein the second edge server is configured to: determinewhether to cooperate with the cloud server based on the data; determinethe control command within a set control period in response todetermining not to cooperate with the cloud server; determine thecontrol command through communication with the cloud server based on thedata in response to determining to cooperate with the cloud server; andtransmit the control command to the end device through the secondwireless network.
 20. An operation method performed by the communicationsystem for three parties of claim 16, the method comprising: wirelesslyconnecting, by an edge server, to at least one end device while the edgeserver is connected to a cloud server; collecting, by the at least oneend device, data; wirelessly transmitting, by the at least one enddevice, the data to the edge server; determining, by the edge server, acontrol command based on the data; wirelessly transmitting, by the edgeserver, the control command to the at least one end device; andoperating, by the at least one end device, according to the controlcommand.